1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inflatable lift and transport apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to an inflatable and portable apparatus for lifting and transporting corpses.
2. Description of Related Art
Humans often may pass away at locations that may have difficult or cumbersome access for accessing the corpse. For example, the corpse may be located at a home or other location that is not generally equipped or designed for easy access and movement of a corpse. In such situations, the corpses can be difficult to remove from the location.
The typical method used for removing corpses from such locations includes lifting and placing the body on some type of surface (e.g., a cot or board such as a “highway cot”) or putting the body in a bag with no support. The corpse may then be moved to a gurney for removal from the location. However, the distance between the corpse's location and the gurney may be significant and/or involve difficult maneuvers such as, but not limited to, going up/down stairs, around tight corners, and through doorways. Lifting and moving the corpse on a cot may be difficult and can cause injury to personnel as the corpse may have to be maneuvered into a variety positions (e.g., placed fully upright) to move the corpse through various locations (e.g., doorways or corners). Additionally, if the corpse is fairly heavy (e.g., above about 250 pounds), it may be difficult or dangerous to continually try to change a position of the corpse as well as being physically taxing.
In certain cases, additional support for lifting and/or moving the corpse may be desirable. The location of the corpse and/or the distance the corpse has to travel before being placed on the gurney may, however, not allow additional support to be easily provided. Thus, there is a need for devices and methods that allow personnel to more easily access and transport corpses at locations that are not generally equipped or designed for easy access and movement of the corpse.